Eternity And A Day
by PrincessLinaMarie
Summary: I was just an agent once. I worked for Fury, before and after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. And then Maria dragged me to one of Tony's elaborate parties, which sucked me into the world of the Avengers. Now we have to fight a psychotic AI called Ultron and two kids that got special powers. On top of all that I'm falling for Captain freakin' America. But that's my life...and I love it.
1. Chapter 1

(OC POV)

I moved through the room towards Maria, whom was standing at the bar with Mr. Stark, Thor and Colonel Rhodes. She suddenly coughed and the Colonel was leading her away, my heeled boots clicking as I changed my path to intercept her.

"Aly!" she exclaimed before pulling away from Rhodes to walk up to me and hug me tightly, being careful around my back before pulling away.

"Hello Maria, how are you?" I whispered as I pulled away and set my hands on her shoulder, my cloak brushing my ankles as she moved to lead me to the couch.

"Good. I thought you wouldn't make it, but I'm glad you did." She said as we both sat and just like that we started up a conversation, Rhodes walking away as we went into our own little world. A few hours and two martinis later we were laying on the couch talking about Fury, the woman listening to me intently as I brought her up to speed on how the previous director was doing.

"Mind if we join you?" Barton said before sitting down without waiting for a reply, the rest of the avengers and the last guests joining us and settling themselves down after greeting me. Thor set his hammer down on the glass table, the group immediately getting into an argument about how the hammer couldn't be lifted unless the person was worthy. I settled back into the couch and watched the dynamics of the group, slightly jealous that I didn't really have anyone close to me the way they do.

"But it's a trick." Barton yelled slightly causing me to tune back into the conversation as the others laughed, Thor shaking his head as he poured himself and Steve a shot from his flask.

"No no. It's much more than that." The thunder god said with a slight laugh as the two men clinked their glasses together, Steve catching my eye and smiling softly causing me to blush and look down.  
"'Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power.' Whatever, man! It's a trick." Barton said dramatically before gesturing to the hammer incredulously, a laugh leaving me at his theatrics which caused Natasha and Bruce to finally pay attention as well.

"Please, by my guest." Thor said and leaned back as he gestured to the hammer, everybody quieting as they looked towards Barton to see his reaction.

"Come on. Really?" He said in disbelief as Thor nodded, a smile coming to my face at the clearly amused look on his features.

"Yeah." Tony spoke for the god as he winked at me when he caught my gaze, my eyes rolling at his cheesiness.

"Oh, this is gonna be beautiful." Rhodes said from next to Tony as he watched Clint get up, Tony shifting to put his drink down as everybody moved closer.

"Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony snapped out with his usual wittiness, his eyes glinting with humor as everybody laughed at his joke.

"Is that why Pepper is never around anymore Tony? Is she not as forgiving as you?" I shot back in Barton's defense, Tony shooting me a glare as everybody laughed again making me smile.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint said and at Thor's nod tried to pick up the hammer, laughing as he stopped pulling and looked at the hammer. "I still don't know how you do it!"

"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony remarked while Rhodes looked at him in exasperation, my head shaking at his ability to always have something rude to say.

"Please, Stark, by all means." The archer gestured towards the hammer as he moved to sit back down, Tony immediately getting up as everyone made a side comment about it.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge. It's physics. Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" he said as he moved to unbutton his suit jacket and wrap his hand around the handle, everybody continuing to make side comments to whatever he said.

"Yes, of course." Thor said with a nod, though by looking at his face you could clearly tell that he was just amusing the billionaire.

"I will be reinstituting _prima nocta_." Tony said and looked around before pulling, grunting before he released the handle and looked around again. "I'll be right back." And just like that it became a competition, the others all trying to pick it up and never succeeding much to the rest of our amusement. When it was Steve's turn I sat up a little straighter, completely fine in admitting that I had a bit of a crush on him and I wanted to see if 'the man who could do no wrong' could lift the hammer.

"Go ahead, Steve. No Pressure." Stark said from where he sat back down, my first instinct to banter with him though I let it go to see what Steve did.

"Come on, Cap." Clint said as the Captain walked up and wrapped his hands around the handle, shooting me a small smile which I replied to with an encouraging one. My eyes snapped to Thor when the hammer actually shifted in place while Steve pulled, a laugh bursting out of me at the way his smile dropped quickly at the sight.

"Nothing." Thor said with an almost nervous laugh when Steve gave up and moved to sit back down, the super soldier gesturing to me before laughing when I shook my head wildly and gestured for him to stop.

"And, Widow?" Bruce said as he turned towards the woman and held his hands out, curiosity written on his face though it was hidden well by the amusement there.

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered." She said with a shake of her head before she leaned back on her seat, taking a sip of her beer as she looked elsewhere.

"All deference to the 'man who wouldn't be king', but it's rigged." Tony said after everyone started getting up to go home for the night, holding out his hands as he stared in disbelief at the hammer.

"You bet your ass." Barton muttered as he patted Stark's shoulder, moving past him to stand at the back of the couch that the billionaire was sitting on.

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Maria said causing me to burst out laughing at the disgruntled look that appeared on the Captain's face, my hand rising to cover my mouth at Steve glanced at me with amusement.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asked Tony as he looked up at him with slight annoyance, Tony shrugging before setting his drink down while Rhodey laughed.

"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code. 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, I think, the literal translation." I laughed and shook my head as I caught Steve's gaze and smiled shyly again, the man rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled back before looking at Thor when the man got up.

"Yes. It's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one. You're all not worthy." Thor said as he grabbed his hammer and picked it up, holding out his arms in challenge with a smug smile while everybody groaned in protest. Before anyone could really say anything again a high-pitched noise rung through the room, my ears screaming in protect as my hands moved to cover them before they took damage. As the noise went away everyone glanced at each other, my eyes moving to Tony as he pulled out his phone to try and figure out what just happened.

"Worthy." A voice said slowly with an unsettling tone as a mangled suit of armor stumbled into the room, everybody turning to look at it as it turned to us slowly. "No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers." The robot said slowly, Steve turning to Tony as Tony continued calling to Jarvis with no luck. "I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or I was a…dream. There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in…in…strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy." The robot said while gesturing with whatever was left of his arm, his words sending alarms through my instincts as I stood slowly and focused on him.

"You killed someone?" Steve's calm voice managed to sooth me a bit, though I still stayed alert in case this…thing decided to attack.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices." The robot said and just like that everybody was readying up for battle, Helen Cho moving to stand behind Thor knowing that this wouldn't turn out well.

"Who sent you?" the thunder god demanded as I unbuttoned my cloak, my wings restless as they itched to be free for the fight that was coming. The robot played a recorded clip that sounded an awful lot like Stark, my eyes snapping to his as my irritation with him rose to the surface.

"Ultron." Bruce said in confusion as Tony locked gazes with him, both of them looking confused though they turned to the robot as he immediately replied.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this…chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission." Ultron said as if confirming it to himself as well, everybody finally getting up and turning towards him warily.

"What mission?" Natasha said as she slipped her heels off to get ready to run, the robot pausing before turning his head towards us.

"Peace in our time." And just like that the room turned into a warzone, the rest of the iron legion bursting through the wall and shooting towards us. My cloak slipped off as Steve yanked me to his side, kicking up the table as a blast came towards us and knocked us behind the couch.

"Be careful." He whispered softly before leaving me side to go fight the legionnaires, my eyes catching sight of one of them grabbing the scepter. With a growl I shot up and spread my wings, chasing it out onto the patio before taking flight and going after it. It was headed North, it's speed something that I was struggling to keep up with though I did well enough. We traveled for a few dozen miles before I suddenly disappeared in the clouds, an infuriated growl leaving me at the thought that it got away when I had it right in front of me, and with the scepter no less.

"Damnit." I breathed out before turning as I heard Thor and his hammer approaching.


	2. Chapter 2

(OC POV)

I followed Thor into the building, picking up my cloak and slipping it on as we made our way to the lab where the rest of the team was. A gasp left me as the god stormed to Tony and picked him up by his neck, everybody freaking out as the two men traded some heated words. Before I could move to stop them Steve grabbed my arm firmly, shaking his head with a small smile before moving towards them himself.

"Thor, the legionnaire." The Captain said as he stopped a few feet from them, Thor hesitating before practically throwing Tony away from him and glancing at Steve.

"Trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed North. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again." The god said getting a bit louder in his anger, my wings readjusting under my cloak at the tension in the room and the fact that I could still feel the Captain's touch.

"Genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron." Natasha said from the other side of the room, everybody turning towards her as they were at a loss of words.

"I don't understand. You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" Helen said with something akin to frustrated confusion, a sigh leaving me as I hugged myself underneath my coat. Steve moved to my side and put a hand on my shoulder for comfort, his attention being stolen by Stark as he started to laugh almost manically.

"You think this is funny?" Thor said as he took a step towards the scientist, said scientist turning towards him with a straight face.

"No. It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so…is it so…. It is. It's so terrible." Tony said as he chuckled between sentences, Steve and I glancing at each other in worry before he moved a bit closer to Tony.

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand." Thor said as he pointed to the mangled robot that Helen was observing a few seconds ago, Tony shaking his head before glancing around and moving towards Thor.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this." Stark saying as he got in Thor's face, the god's hand tightening around his hammer as he restrained himself. The tension became thicker, my chest and its contents throbbing in discomfort.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time." Bruce said before being cut off as Tony turned towards him, a look of incredulity on his features as my hand rose to rub my chest.  
"Really? That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?" the smug billionaire said as he took a step towards the doctor, a frown coming to my face as I glanced at Maria and saw that she was rolling her eyes.

"Only when I've created a murder bot." the doctor fired back with an incredulous look on his face, Tony holding his arms out as if he was confused.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" the man asked with a challenging expression, Bruce shrugging before nodding and pursing his lips in a cautious affirmative.

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve said as he took a few steps towards Tony, my feet taking me towards the table he was leaning on so I could hop up and sit on it.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole? Saved New York? Recall That? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's…that's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?" Tony said as he glanced at all of us throughout his speech, a sheepish blush coming to my face as I realized I wasn't there though I had surely heard of it.

"Together." Steve said and that was the moment I fell in love with the man, figuratively speaking of course…I think.

"We'll lose." Tony said as he took a step towards the Captain, a frown on his face as his irritation with the man started showing through.

"Then we'll do that together, too. Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller." Steve said as he moved towards the table where I was sitting at, leaning on the table next to me as everybody started moving slowly.

"Maybe…maybe we should get some rest first?" I whispered to the Captain with the pleading puppy eyes that Fury was a sucker for, a blush coming to the man's face before he sighed and nodded with a sheepish smile.

"After a good night's rest." He added and within minutes everybody was out of the room and headed towards their beds, a small smile on my face as he moved to stand in front of me and glanced at the floor.

"Uh…do you…um…do you have a room?" Steve stuttered over his words making me giggle and brush my hair behind my ear, looking at the floor a I swung my feet softly.

"Well…uh, no, I don't. I wasn't planning on staying the night." I whispered softly as I bit my lip in thought, Steve's hand reaching towards me before he dropped it quickly.

"Well, I would prefer if you did. Ultron has seen you with us, which I'm sure has made you a target. You should stay so I can keep you safe. I mean, so we can. Us Avengers. Yeah." The Captain said as if reassuring himself instead of me, a soft smile coming to my face before a frown quickly replaced it.

"But Tony has already gone to bed and Jarvis isn't here to help anymore." I said with a slight sadness in my tone at the fact that the AI was now gone, his politeness and almost human personality something that I would miss here in the tower.

"Um…well…you can always sleep in my bed? Not with me though! Unless you want to…which I'm totally ok with. Damnit!" Steve whispered the last part as he shook his head and glared at the ground, a laugh leaving me as I realized I affected him just as much as he affected me.

"I would love to, thank you. Lead on, Captain." I whispered as I jumped off the table at the same time he reached to help me off, stumbling into each other as his arms wrapped around me to keep me steady. Just as I realized how tall he was he pulled away from me, my eyes closing to take in his scent as he backed off to give me space with an embarrassed grin.

"Come on, let's get some rest." The super soldier said before moving to leave the room, my feet immediately moving to follow him as he moved towards the stairs that led to the lower levels which housed the Avengers rooms. A few minutes of awkward silence later and he stopped in front of a door, taking a deep sigh before opening it and letting me in. I glanced around but as soon as I saw the huge luscious bed I tuned everything else out and ran and jumped on it, squirming around on the sheets before curling around a pillow and getting comfortable. As I was dozing off I felt gentle hands pry the cloak off of me, a blanket settling over my body and a hesitant kiss to my head before sleep took me.


	3. Chapter 3

(OC POV)

"You find anything?" I asked Natasha as I leaned over her shoulder, the women humming in a negative as she continued to type. I looked up at Steve and Barton entered the room, Steve handing a tablet to Thor which made the god frown in frustration.

"What's this?" Tony said as he came up behind me to see what they were looking at, Thor slamming the tablet in Tony's chest and looking at Steve.

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker." The captain said as everybody gathered around in confusion at his words, my eyes glancing at the tablet to see the mentioned man in his cell with the words 'Peace' written in his blood on the wall.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Tony said which made me smack his arm, his gaze turning to mine in surprise though I merely frowned at him.

"This is a smoke screen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha said almost angrily as she finally turned to the rest of us, my hand falling to her shoulder as I gave my old friend an encouraging smile.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said as he glanced at me, a soft smile on my face before I watched Natasha as she turned back to the computer.

"Yeah, I bet he…Yeah. Everything we had on Strucker's been erased." Nat she said which made us all look at the screen to see that the files had indeed been erased, an agitated sigh leaving me as I leaned back away from her chair and rubbed my temples while my necklace pulsed with life under my shirt.

"Not everything." The captain said and then we were looking through the paper files that we got from S.H.I.E.L.D, my eyes narrowing in irritation when Thor kept throwing the files that he went through behind him without care.

"Known associates. Baron Strucker had a lot of friends." Steve said as he set down a box of files on the main table we were at, the team glancing at the files which matching grimaces.

"Well, these people are all horrible." Bruce said as he pulled out a file and flipped through it, Tony leaning closer to him with a confused look on his face.

"Wait. I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." The genius said before taking the file from the doctor's hands, flipping through it to get more information from it. He handed Thor a picture of the man from surveillance footage, Steve giving him an exasperated look from the information he just gave. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab." Tony said as he looked back down at the file, Steve shaking his head in irritation which cause me to laugh quietly.

"This?" Thor said as he pointed to the picture, Tony and Steve leaning closer to look at it while I continued looking at the rest of the files with Nat.

"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it." Tony said as I pulled out a file and glanced through it, sighing as I found nothing of importance which made Natasha hip check me with a small smile.

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand." The god said which made us all look up, Bruce taking the picture and downloading it into the computer to see if he could find the origin.

"Branding is a form of punishment. Whatever he did must have been bad." I murmured to Steve as I stood to his right, Thor murmuring in agreement from his left as he watched the doctor. The captain looked at me with a frown, glancing at Tony who stood next to me before shooting me a soft smile.

"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning "thief". In a much less friendly way." Bruce said as he turned to look at us, my head tilting as I moved to the computer and looked closer at the brand.

"What dialect?" Steve said from behind me as I continued looking at the brand, my eyes taking me to the info on the side of the screen to see if it had the dialect.

"Oh god. It's from Wakanda." I said as I turned to the others, catching gazes with Natasha as we both winced at the new information.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods…." Tony trailed off as he leaned closer to the captain, said man frowning as he shook his head slightly.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it." Steve murmured with a confused frown, all of us leaning closer to hear what they were saying.

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce said as he got up from his chair and moved to join us, Steve turning to glance at his shield as Tony stared at the doctor.

"The strongest metal on Earth." The genius said before we all turned to look at the shield as well, Nat sighing and shaking her head while I mentally agreed with her.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve said as he turned to look at Tony, Clint's gaze catching mine in confusion while I merely shook my head at his obliviousness sometimes.

"Off the African coast. I'll put the exact coordinates into the jet." Tony said before leaving the room quickly to do as he said, Steve sighing before turning to look at the rest of us.

"Alright, let's move Avengers. We need to be there yesterday." The captain barked out and suddenly the room was a flurry of movement, everybody leaving to get geared up as quickly as possible.

"I'm coming with you." I said as I stood in front of Steve as he moved to leave, a small smile coming to his face as he tilted his head like he was considering it.

"Then move it." He said with a wink before brushing past me and getting ready himself, a soft blush coming to my face at his flirtatiousness before I did the same. Running to Natasha's room I burst in the door, guns and ammo getting thrown at me before I even asked.

"I'm gonna need my swords, Nat." I said as I clipped the weapons to my thighs along with the ammo, the woman pointing to her closet wordlessly as she zipped up her catsuit. I ran to said room and opened up the secret compartment in the back of it, sighing in relief when I pulled out the long black box that held my prized possessions. Lifting off the top, I grinned happily when I spotted to twin blades and their black hilts. In a flurry of movement, I was dressed in my own catsuit with my cloak clipped on and my blades hidden beneath it.

"Let's go." Nat said before grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the room behind her, my eyes rolling before I simply went with the flow and let her drag me.

"Barton! Move it!" I yelled with a playful wink as we ran by his room, the man shouting unsavory words back as he chased after us. We skidded into the hanger, looking around to see the only other person there was Tony.

"Nice to see you all acting like kids in a time of crisis." The genius said as he finished shrugging into his Iron Man suit, my eyes rolling as I strutted up to him and set my finger on his chest.

"Oh, you're one to talk Tony. Shall I bring up the Helicarrier incident?" I murmured quietly enough that no one else heard me, the genius narrowing his eyes before suddenly putting on a bright smile.

"Well, at least it lightens the mood!" he said overly cheerfully before shooting me a glare and stalking into the jet, Barton laughing and patting my back as he walked past me to follow the billionaire.

"I don't know how you do it, but you always were able to shut him up effectively." Nat said with a small grin as she moved to stand at my side, both of us glancing behind us to see the rest of the team filing in.

"It's a gift." I said as my eyes caught Steve's in time to see him assessing my outfit, a blush crossing his cheeks as he realized he was caught which made me grin.


	4. Chapter 4

(OC POV)

I slowly moved behind Natasha, glancing across the bridge to see Steve moving into position as well. He smiled softly at me and I blushed and looked away, sliding my hair up into a ponytail before nodding at Natasha

"It's a thing with me. Stark is…he's a sickness!" we heard Ultron saying from inside the room, my eyes flicking to Tony as he slowly lowered himself to the ground across the bridge.

"Ah, Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." The genius said as he landed on the ground to get the AI's attention, Thor and Steve moving up behind him as the tension in the room heightened.

"If I have to." the AI said as the Maximoff twins moved up behind him, my eyes tightening as I felt something familiar in the female named Wanda.

"Nobody has to break anything." Thor said which brought my attention back to the present, the feeling being pushed to the side as I focused on the fight that would soon break out.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron said sarcastically as he took a step closer, the twins becoming restless behind him as they watched silently.

"He beat me by one second." Tony murmured to the guys behind him, my heightened hearing allowing me to catch that and had me rolling my eyes.

"Ah, yes. He's funny. Mr. Stark. It's what? comfortable? Like old times?" the male twin Pietro said as he moved closer to Ultron, his sister watching him closely with a hint of worry on her blank face.

"This was never my life." The billionaire said as he looked down at the missiles, the hint of sadness in his tone one that the whole team probably picked up on.

"You two can still walk away from this." Steve said as he moved up to Tony's side, my eyes flicking to him as I sighed at his never-ending righteousness.

"Oh, we will." Wanda said smugly with a hint of bitterness, a frown on my face as I bristled at her attitude but I focused on Steve as he stepped closer.

"I know you've suffered." The captain said as he stared at the kids with an intense stare, us all snapping to attention as Ultron scoffed in amusement and irritation.

"Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but…." The AI paused as if to hammer in his statement, a giggle bubbling up my throat at his humor though I stopped it at Natasha's irritated glare.

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor said as he shifted forward a bit, his eyes on the AI as he watched him closely.

"I think you're confusing "peace" with "quiet"." Ultron said as he took a step forward, his head tilted as if in confusion.

"Yeah-huh. What's the vibranium for?" Tony asked so we could just get to the point, my mind sending a silent thank you his way as I felt the tension reach a high point.

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." And in a matter of seconds he sent Tony flying and the room erupted into chaos, his robotic slaves appearing from nowhere and attacking Thor and Steve. The twins stepped into the battle, Natasha and I taking out a robot before suddenly men appeared and started shooting at us.

"Fuck!" I growled out as one of the bullets got my arm, Natasha glancing at me before taking out three men. Clint was behind us shooting whatever men got within his sight, my eyes flashing orange before I took a deep breath and took out my guns. Taking aim I fired a bullet into each head I saw that I didn't recognize, dropping three hostiles in three seconds before moving closer to the fight. Steve dropped to the ground and I quickly made my way to him, smacking his cheek as I fired at two men coming up behind me and watched them drop.

"I'm good. Watch out for the enhanced." He said as he tucked my hair behind my ear before getting up and running to get his shield, a sigh leaving me at the tender gesture before I got my head back into the game.

"Thor, status." I heard Steve bark in the com piece causing me to look at Thor, the god stumbling back a bit before shoving a man to the ground hard enough to knock him out.

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care. I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty." The thunder god said as he moved to check for any more hostiles, the man dropping to his knees a few seconds later. I frowned and started to move towards him when I saw Steve go flying into some stairs, the girl forcing red mist into his mind as well which made my own eyes flash orange angrily. Suddenly I was standing in front of her as she ran up and off the stairs, a grin on her face before she flicked her hand at me. I raised an eyebrow and she frowned when she realized nothing was happening, a grin coming to my face as he expression turned into one of slight panic as she started backing up.

"You really should do your research before you pick a fight, little one. Because if you don't, you lose." I said softly before suddenly my eyes glowed orange and she was lifted up into the air, clutching at her throat as she struggled to get air into her lungs. Before I could force her into unconsciousness her brother slammed into me from behind, my head knocking into the metal wall hard enough to knock me into unconsciousness.

(Sometime Later)

In the darkness I heard something, like someone speaking under the water. A sharp sting to my cheek and my head snapping to the side caused me to wake up, my eyes opening as I sat up with a deep gasp to see Clint crouching in front of me.

"Aly! You ok?" he said as he helped me sit up and studied me, making sure that I didn't have any obvious injuries.

"Yeah, just gonna be sore. What happened?" I asked quickly as I looked around for the rest of the team, only seeing Natasha who was leaning against the wall beside me and looked to be out of it completely.

"Well, we're all alive. But Tony needs some help. Banner is currently the Hulk and right now he's…unreasonable. Think you could…work some magic?" he said hesitantly as he grimaced slightly, my eyes widening as I realized that he knew what I could do which means he knew what I was.

"How did you know?" I said warily as I contemplated making him disappear, the small smile on his face telling me that he meant no harm.

"I'm an assassin. I know everything. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone. But right now, Tony could really use your help." He said as we heard a deafening explosion going off somewhere outside the boat, both of us looking up at the hole in the roof before sharing a cringe.

"Fine. Take care of the team, I'll take care of Banner." I said before standing and steadying myself, reaching deep into my mind to find Tony's presence and immediately appearing in his vicinity. It took a moment to gather my senses, smoke filling the air while rubble and huge pieces of wall were beneath my feet.

"Aly?" I heard and looked to my left to see Tony in the special suit that him and Banner created and lovingly named Veronica, a frown coming to my brow as he passed out before I looked around and saw people screaming and running from us. The military pulled up and jumped out of their trucked quickly, my head snapping to the side to see the Hulk coming up through the rubble. He seemed to shake whatever it was out of his head and sneezed at the dust, glancing around at all the destruction that surrounded him with an almost sorrowful gaze. When he caught sight of the soldiers with guns pointed at him he became angry again, my hands touching his temples and with a flash of orange he was deeply unconscious and changing back to Bruce.

"Clint?" I said as I raised my hand to my ear where the com was, lifting the doctor out of the whole he was in and fixing his pants.

" _You ok?"_ the archer replied back seconds later, a sigh leaving me before I moved to wake up Tony.

"Everything's good. Can you come pick us up?" I said as I smacked him harshly and watched as he slowly groaned, opening his eyes before complaining about the sunlight and looking away.

" _You bet your ass I can. Hold tight, I'll be there soon."_ He said with a relieved tone before it became silent, a relieved sigh leaving me as I realized that it was over for now.

"Damn. How much did I drink last night?" I heard Tony's voice as it destroyed the slight quiet that I was in, my eyes narrowing as I looked at him and saw the grin on his face.

"Oh shutup!"


	5. Chapter 5

(OC POV)

I leaned against the panel behind Tony, studying the team as he talked to Maria.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest but it's in the air." Maria said as she glanced at me behind Stark, my eyes focusing on Steve who was hiding behind a wall in front of me.

"The Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony said to make sure that everything was ok, that fact that we just left all that behind so quickly seeming to bother him.

"Already on the scene. How's the team?" Hill said hesitantly as I felt her gaze through the screen, Tony sighing as I also felt him glance at me and probably the rest of the team.

"Everyone's…." The genius started then paused because he couldn't find the words, my own worried sigh leaving me before I turned around and looked at Maria.

"We took a hit, 'Ria. A hard hit. But we'll shake it off." I said softly as I moved closer to the screen so she would hear me, the woman frowning in worry but I smiled to let her know that I was ok.

"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here." She said with a soft smile to me, my eyes tightening as I realized I couldn't go home for a while.

"So, run and hide?" Tony bit back before looking away sheepishly, a sigh leaving the woman on the screen as she shook her head.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer." Maria said and she looked at me as she shrugged, a sigh leaving me as I turned away and slid down the wall to the floor.

"Neither do we." Stark said and sighed before he ended the video call, getting up and patting my head before making his way to where Clint was piloting. "Hey, you wanna switch out?" he asked the assassin as I took my chance to steal his seat, leaning back into it and getting comfortable as I once again glanced at where Steve was sitting silently.

"No, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out." Clint said as he glanced over his shoulder, Tony leaning closer and setting his hand on the back of his seat to balance himself.

"Few hours from where?" Tony said quietly and I listened closely to quench my own curiosity, peeking an eye open to watch the two men and their body language.

"A safe house." The archer said simply and Tony shrugged before turning around, glaring at me when he realized that I was sitting in his seat.

"Up."

"What a gentleman you are."

"Yeah, a perfect gentleman. Go find your own seat, birdie."

"Asshole."

"A perfect asshole."

"Oh Jesus."

(A Few Hours Later)

Clint dropped the jet down on what looked like a farm, a two story house and a barn a little more down the ways. We all shuffled out quietly, Clint supporting Natasha who still seemed out of it. Once we were all out of the jet we made our way up the road, all in single file line as the archer led us up to the house.

"What is this place?" Thor said as we shuffled up the stairs, turning to look at Tony who was standing next to him.

"Safe house." Tony he said simply and shrugged, the god looking at Clint as he glanced back at us.

"Let's hope." Clint said before moving to open the door, Natasha practically leaning all her weight on him. We all moved through the door and into the house, my eyes moving to the pictures on the wall as I put two and two together. "Honey? I'm home." He said as he moved into the living room, even more pictures appearing along with toys and drawings. I traded knowing glances with Natasha, the rest of the men looking completely clueless. Which quickly turned to confusion when a **very** pregnant woman waddled out from behind the corner, eyeing us all with confusion as she held a couple child drawings in her hand. "Hi. Company. Sorry, didn't call ahead." He said and they exchanged greetings as she gave him a soft kiss, his arms wrapping around her in a light hug with her belly between them.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony said as he looked up at Thor, my eyes rolling at his denial while Thor merely glanced at him in disbelief.

"Gentlemen, this is Laura." The archer said as he held the smaller woman to his side, a small smile coming to my face as I watched the way they subconsciously drifted towards each other.

"I know all of your names." Laura said after waving hesitantly, a slight brush to my arm making my eyes moving to my right to see Steve standing there and looking at me intently.

"Oh. Incoming." Clint said as the sound of stomping feet took my attention away from Steve, watching as two children ambushed Clint and he greeted them happily.

"These are smaller agents." Tony said yet again to a confused Thor, causing me to reach around the god and smack him on the chest hard enough to make him yelp.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the little girl said quietly which made Clint smile brightly, Natasha seeming to come to life as she took a deep breath and smile softly.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" she said as she moved towards the girl, picking her up and smiling brightly when the child ran towards her with a gasp.

"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve said and I looked at him to see that he was looking at Laura, a worried frown on his brow that probably stemmed from bothering her. I set my hand on his shoulder, giving him a sweet smile when he looked at me.

"Yeah, we would've called ahead but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Tony said rudely making me glare at him angrily, the man glancing at me and shrugging innocently as he held his hands up.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Clint said as he glanced at me almost sheepishly, a small smile coming to my face as I winked at him to let him know I forgave him.

"Hi." Laura said to Natasha as she walked up to her, hugging her softly before glancing down at her belly.

"I missed you. How's little Natasha?" Nat said as she set her hands on the belly, missing the mom's grimace at her words.

"She's…Nathaniel." Laura hesitated to say, Natasha's face becoming blank before she frowned and crouched in front of the belly.

"Traitor." The redhead said which made me giggle, my eyes turning to look at Steve's as he stared at the ground.

"Hey, you ok?" I whispered softly as I set my hand on the captain's bicep, a shiver running through me as I felt the muscle flexing beneath my fingers.

"Fine." He said with an unconvincing smile on his face as he held my hand in his own, my eyes glancing down at our hands before I focused on his baby blue eyes again.

"If you wanna talk, I'm here ok?" I said softly and gripped his hand, the man nodding and smiling back at me before suddenly Thor was stomping away. Steve let me go with a soft smile and turned to follow Thor, both men disappearing from my sight making me sigh and hope the god was ok.

"What's that?" a small voice asked making me look down to see the little girl in front of me, her eyes on my appendages that were ruffling beneath my coat.

"My wings." I said softly as I crouched down to her level, a soft smile on my face before suddenly her brother was in front of me with an excited grin.

"Oh, can I see? Can I?" he said as he practically vibrated with excitement, his sister doing the same while Clint and his wife laughed and nodded that it was ok.

"Yeah, let the kiddos see them birdie." Tony said with a grin knowing I wouldn't hurt him with the children in the room, my eyes narrowing as I vowed to get him back before taking off my coat.


	6. Chapter 6

(OC POV)

I watched as Tony walked away after Laura asked him to look at their tractor, the question interrupting a fight that Tony and Steve were in the middle of. I took the opportunity to walk up to Steve, gripping his arm as he turned to resume cutting wood.

"Take a walk with me?" I asked softly, the man sighing before nodding and dropping his axe.

"Lead the way." The soldier said with a tight smile as he watched me, my own smile appearing before I turned and led the way into the trees. We walked for about ten minutes, my eyes glancing to him periodically as I watched him think through whatever was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" I said as I finally stopped, the man's head snapping up in surprise at the sudden sound of my voice.

"Nothing." He said too quickly, my eyebrow rising at his constant denial when asked about his wellbeing.

"You're never so irritable. Something's wrong." I said simply, the captain sighing before rubbing his temples and staring at me intensely.

"Just leave it alone. Please." He said sternly before turning away and continuing to walk, my irritation becoming present when he walked away from me.

"Keeping it in will only make it worse. You need to talk about it." I retorted as I moved to follow him, the soldier turning on his heels suddenly and glaring down at me in irritation.

"What are you, a shrink? You wouldn't understand." He hissed out angrily and my temper finally snapped, my hands curling into fists as I pushed him back and away from me.

"I would if you would tell me!" I shouted at him, hurt coloring my voice if you could look past the anger as his eyes widened before narrowing dangerously.

"Fine! You want to know? I saw the love of my life for the first time in years! I held her and danced with her like I promised so long ago. And then she just disappeared. And you took her place. You, who I barely know, but feel so drawn to. You hugged me and comforted me and it felt so right. And then you were taken from me too! And killed right in front of me! I watched as the life left your eyes. The worst part is…I realized I cared more for you than I knew. And it took losing you to get that." He started off angry and slowly he became more upset and confused, my own eyes wide with pleasant surprise and a little bit of hurt though I wasn't sure why. All was silent for a few minutes, both of us trying to gather our thoughts enough to say something.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see all that, and I'm sorry that doing so made you realize you cared. But if it's so bad to care about me, then don't. I would rather be no one to you than a burden." I said softly before smiling sadly and taking my coat in my arms, shooting up into the sky with a flap of my wings before he could reply.

"Aly! Wait!" I didn't hear anything else past that, knowing that I would have to stay away if we were both to survive the fight ahead.

(Steve's POV (Surprise!))

"Damnit." I murmured as I watched her disappear from my sight, the trees blocking her from my view as I collapsed against a tree. Flashes of her gripping my face and bringing my lips to hers played through my head, my hands tingling as I still felt her soft skin beneath my fingertips. The pleasant scene turned into one from a nightmare, multiple gunshots ringing as her blood coated my suit and hands. She whispered my name before dropping to the ground, my voice ringing through my ears as I yelled for her to hold on. Within seconds she died in my arms, my eyes snapping open to see the forest floor instead of her lifeless gaze.

"I screwed that up before it even started." I whispered to myself and gripped my hair roughly as I realized she wouldn't leave my mind anytime soon, sighing in resignation before getting up and moving back to the farm so I could finish chopping the wood.

(That Night) (OC POV)

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with…I don't think it's just one thing." Fury said as he moved to cut himself some bread, glancing at me over his shoulder to where I sat next to Nat at the table.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve said, glancing at me again like he's been doing every five minutes since he came inside and saw that I was here.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though." Fury said as he poured himself a glass of wine, moving back to his bread as he shrugged and glanced at Steve.  
"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony said from the other room where he was playing darts, not even bothering to glance over as he focused on the board.

"Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway." Fury said as he cut the slices from the loaf, not looking up from the cutting board and the knife he was holding.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Tony said in disbelief though there was a hint of smugness in his voice, the man turning to look at Fury as he twirled a dart between his fingers absently.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury said as he folded the bread in half, Steve shifting from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Nexus?" he questioned, turning towards Fury as he asked the question.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo. Every bite of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth." Bruce answered for him which got Steve's attention, the captain's eyes flicking towards me since I sat in front of the doctor.

"So what did they say?" Clint said as he examined a dart Tony left on the counter, a perplexed look on his face though I believe he was just planning something.

"He's fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed." Fury said with an almost confused look on his face, he eyes glancing at me though I shrugged and shook my head in confusion.

"By whom?" Tony said, jerking back when the darts hit the bullseye of the board he was standing in front of. We both looked at the archer, who merely smirked smugly and shrugged in playful innocence.

"Parties unknown." Fury said as he looked at the archer and the genius, his tone almost disapproving which caused me to giggle into my hand quietly.

"Do we have an ally?" Nat said as she looked up from the drawing that was in her hand, her gaze catching mine and it was just as cautious as mine was.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's **not** the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury said as he gathered his snack together, taking a sip of his wine as he finished with the bread.

"I might need to visit Oslo. Find our unknown." Stark said as he moved away from the board, entering the room from the little doorway that separated us.

"Well this is good times boss, but I was kinda hoping when I saw you you'd have more than that." Nat said before anyone else could say anything, looking at Fury with disappointment as I looked at the table blankly.

"I do. I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury said as he moved to sit down, winking at me which caused me to roll my eyes and smile softly at my father figure.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Nat said sarcastically, a scoff leaving me as I shook my head and grinned in amusement.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve said with a slight smile that made me think that he was feeling better, the spy grinning triumphantly at the fact that she irritated him once again.

"So what does he want?" Fury said as he glanced at me like I had all the answers, my eyes narrowing in irritation at the man though I didn't voice it.

"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies." Steve said as he glanced at me to see me smiling, a slight smile on his face before he became serious again and looked at everyone else.

"Person bodies. The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it." Tony said in confusion, glaring down at the floor as he tried to figure it out in his head.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Natasha said as she looked up at Bruce, said doctor looking over her shoulder and down at the drawing of a butterfly that Clint's daughter gave her.  
"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve." Bruce said softly, looking up at us before exchanging knowing glances with me as I realized what he was getting at.

"How?" Fury said as he stared at the doctor intently, the rest of the team doing the same as they tensed in anticipation.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" I whispered as I stared at the butterfly, curses flying around the room as it suddenly became a flurry of movement. Within a few minutes everybody was suited up and gathering in the living room, Natasha and I talking about the new Frappuccino that Laura told us Starbucks just released.

"I'll take Natasha and Clint." Steve said as he attached his shield to his back, glancing at me before Tony stole his attention as he walked up to him.

"All right. Strictly Recon. I'll hit the Nexus. I'll join you as soon as I can." Tony said while fiddling with his watch, Steve following him to the doorway where they stopped.

"If Ultron's really building a body…." Steve faltered as he glanced at the ground, looking up as I approached the two boys after leaving Natasha to say her goodbyes.

"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us." I said as I secured my coat to my shoulders, watching as Steve studied me with a soft look in his eyes.

"An android designed by a robot." Tony agreed as he fiddled with his watch some more, glancing up in time to see Steve looking back to him.

"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me." Steve said as he shook his head, glancing down at me when I giggled which made him smile softly.

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. Do you mind if I borrow Miss Hill?" Fury said as he stopped in the doorway, stealing our attention as he pulled on his coat and took a few steps closer.

"She's all yours. Apparently. What are you gonna do?" Stark said as he looked at the man in irritation, leaning closer in anticipation after he asked his question.

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope." Fury said with a grin as he glanced at me, winking again before turning and walking away from us.

"Well I better go get the jet started up." Tony said, leaving Steve and I alone as I glanced at him to see him already watching me.

"You know…I never said it was bad to care about you. I just said it was bad that you had to die for me to figure it out. I…like…caring about someone. After being alone for so long…it's nice. Maybe after this whole Ultron mess…if we survive…would you like to go to dinner?" he stuttered through his words right up to the finish, my eyes widening as I realized he would like…this…to go somewhere.

"Like a date?" I asked very ineloquently, a smile coming to my face as he nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah, a date." He said as he smiled back, becoming more confident once he saw my smile.

"I would love to, Captain." I said with a wink, a blush crossing his face before he cleared his throat and straightened up.

"Good. Now let's go get that platinum bastard." He said before gesturing for me to lead the way, a laugh leaving me as I shook my head and raised my eyebrow.

"Language, Steve." I said teasingly and watched as a frown appeared on his brow, my head rising to give him a kiss on the cheek before he could respond. I skipped out the door after I pulled away, missing his wide-eyed expression and the happy smile that slowly spread across his face along with a blush.


End file.
